This disclosure relates to a semiconductor memory, and more particularly, relates to a nonvolatile memory and an operating method of the nonvolatile memory.
A semiconductor memory device is a memory device that is fabricated using semiconductors such as silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP), and so on. Semiconductor memory devices are classified into volatile memory devices and nonvolatile memory devices.
The volatile memory devices may lose stored contents at power-off. The volatile memory devices include a static RAM (SRAM), a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), and the like. The nonvolatile memory devices may retain stored contents even at power-off. The nonvolatile memory devices include a read only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), a flash memory device, a phase-change RAM (PRAM), a magnetic RAM (MRAM), a resistive RAM (RRAM), a ferroelectric RAM (FRAM), and so on. The flash memory device may be divided into a NOR type and a NAND type.
In recent years, three-dimensional semiconductor memory devices have been researched to improve the level of integration of a semiconductor memory device. A structural characteristic of the three-dimensional semiconductor memory device is different from that of a two-dimensional semiconductor memory. Thus, various different driving methods for driving the three-dimensional semiconductor memory device are used due to a structural difference between the three-dimensional semiconductor memory device and the two-dimensional semiconductor memory. The use of different driving methods may help overcome certain obstacles presented by the different architecture used for three-dimensional semiconductor memory devices.